Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Natalie and Harper sat in silence, waiting as Lionel read the words on the screen of Harper’s laptop.
Aside from the occasional grunt, there were no words spoken. Lionel would indicate to Natalie with a flick of his wrist when he wanted her to forward the screen to the next page.
Since she couldn’t see Lionel, Harper sat by watching Natalie advance the file, page after page, until she finally drew in a sharp breath. “You know, if you just put it on read aloud, it will advance the page on its own. He can just read along. You can adjust the speed…”
“Silence!” Lionel roared, then flick waited for Natalie to change the page one more time.
“He’s not fond of that idea,” she whispered to Harper, earning her a glare from Lionel.
Harper shook her head and took out her cell phone.
Natalie couldn’t blame her. Watching Lionel read this book—the book they’d spent the last week engrossed in, the book she’d hoped to never look at again even though Harper warned there’d still be edits from the publisher—was about as exciting as watching paint dry.
At least the professor was a quick reader. This might only take him the rest of the afternoon, maybe through dinner, to finish reading it. Ugh…
“If you’re going to continue to huff and sigh and grunt then go ahead and put on the computer voice like the amateur over there who dared to write my book suggested.”
Thank God. Ignoring the insult to Harper, Natalie jumped up. “How do I put it on read aloud?” she asked.
Harper perked up at the question too, guessing it meant a reprieve for them both, for at least the next few hours.
She jumped up and said, “I’ll do it.”
As Lionel remained in the kitchen, listening to the computer voice read to him, they quietly snuck out the back door.
“Where are we going to go?” Harper asked.
“The lab. I want to ask Liam what the coroner said about the autopsy. Once he gets over the trauma of us finishing his book, he’s going to go back to obsessing over his death. I figure I’d better be ready.”
Harper nodded. “Good plan.”
After texting Jules to say she was running over to Liam’s lab, Natalie pulled on her coat and gloves. It was a short walk between the depot and the lab, but it was also January in upstate New York.
She and Harper, both now dressed for winter weather, headed out the back door leaving Lionel and the talking computer behind.
After she stepped gingerly over a patch of ice, then over the actual tracks, Harper glanced at Natalie. “Now that we’re alone... Wait, we are alone, right?”
“Yes. Well, Train Track Tim is over there but otherwise, yes.” Natalie lifted one hand in a wave. Farther down the tracks, Tim did the same with his single mangled arm before continuing his daily walk along the path where he’d died.
Harper’s eyes widened before she shook her head. “I don’t want to know. Anyway, tell me the truth. How angry was Lionel?”
“Kinda scary angry.”
“On a scary scale with the ghost of Scrooge’s Marley on the low end and the demon we encountered at Hotel Utica at the high end, where would you rate Lionel?” Harper asked.
“More like Beetlejuice in a bad mood,” she said. Even with as irate as Lionel was, Natalie still couldn’t take his ridiculousness too seriously.
Harper blew out a breath. “Good. I can deal with that.”
Natalie laughed. “And think of it this way. Gabe is going to be thrilled with how unhappy Lionel is over us finishing his book. So he’ll be in a great mood.”
Harper laughed. “There is that.”
They’d reached the door of the lab. Natalie knocked, and a few moments later the door swung in to reveal Liam, looking a bit disoriented.
She knew that look. He got it if he was disrupted when he’d been deep into his work and his own thoughts.
“Hey. Sorry. You busy?” Natalie asked, already knowing the answer.
“A bit. Come on in.” He backed up and let them come in and close the door against the cold.
“We had to get away from Lionel,” Harper said, then took a giant step back when she noticed the table she stood next to held a brain. Or at least a portion of a brain.
Liam let out a short laugh. “Can’t say I blame you.”
“And we were wondering if you’d gotten any test results back on the autopsy,” Natalie added, forcing her gaze to not stray to the horror on the counter.
It was really no wonder it grossed her out to cook any meals containing meat since dating Liam.
He frowned. “I haven’t checked my email today. Let me do that now.”
“It’s almost dinner time and he hasn’t checked his emails yet today?” Harper whispered, clearly appalled.
Natalie smiled. “He lives a whole different existence than you do.”
“Clearly,” Harper said with a sideways glance at the brain.
“Got it,” Liam announced from where he stood bent over the computer on the desk.
“Really. Wow. Great. What does it say?” Natalie asked.
She dared to venture farther into the room. That meant she was now standing closer to a table that most likely contained Lionel’s cadaver.
It didn’t matter how bright or clean Liam kept the lab, it was still a house of horrors in Natalie’s opinion.
“I’m opening the file now,” Liam said, sitting in the desk chair and leaning toward the monitor.
Evidence of foul play would have the police back here and Natalie and Liam back on the suspect list. They all knew it. Most of Mudville knew it.
Finally, after what seemed like countless minutes, Liam stood and turned to face them. “Natural causes,” he announced.
Natalie’s eyes flew wide. “Really?”
“This is conclusive?” Harper asked.
“Yes. The county coroner has done all the testing they can, given the circumstances. Based on the lab results and the findings, myocardial infarction—a heart attack—was the determination.”
“Thank God.” Natalie blew out a loud breath. “So the New Haven police won’t be knocking on my door again?”
“Not unless it’s with an apology,” Liam said.
“Ha. I don’t see that happening. Do you?” Natalie asked.
“No.” He took a step forward, gripped both arms and kissed her forehead. He was acting normal again now that the brain fog hangover from his deep focus had cleared.
“But keep in mind, this is probably not going to go over well with Lionel,” Liam reminded them.
“Especially since he’s already pissed we finished his book without him,” Harper added.
“Oh, yeah. You’re right about that.” Natalie cringed.
“That’s why you’re going to tell him. Not me.” Liam smiled.
Natalie frowned. “When did you become so mean?”
“About the same time my girlfriend started to bring home annoying ghosts.”
“Hey. You brought Lionel here to the lab.”
“You met him first. And pissed him off by fighting with him in Salem and on Facebook. If you two had never met, he might never have known you could see him. He wouldn’t have bothered hanging around here.
We’re too boring for an intellectual like him.
He would have wandered up to the mansion on the hill with all those old books in the library and we’d never have seen him again. This one is on you, babe.”
“As amusing as this debate is,” Harper began. “I’m kind of starving. You wanna come back to my house? We can grab something to eat and hang out and wait for the professor to finish grading our work?”
Natalie glanced up at Liam. “Would you mind if I go over?”
“Not at all. I was actually just starting on Lionel. I’m planning a comparison of tissue in the brain matter of a geriatric patient versus that of a younger man.”
Natalie cringed. Given the choices—hanging out with Liam and his sliced brain matter or with Lionel while he was hate-reading their book, the choice was clear.
She turned to Harper. “I’d love to come over.”
Natalie texted Jules that she’d be at Harper’s if she needed anything. Then, even though neither of them looked presentable enough to be out in public, they walked to the house on Main Street where Harper lived with her Great Aunt Agnes and her fiancé Stone.
Stone was still at work on his family’s farm. And Agnes, who at seventy-something had a social life any younger person would envy, was also out.
Who was home was Gabe and Millie.
Gabe heard them immediately and swooped into the kitchen via the back stairs.
That meant Natalie had to break the news to Gabe that his least favorite spirit had returned to Mudville today and that Lionel was even crankier than before.
But at least she could relay how pissed Lionel was about Harper finishing his book, which seemed some consolation.
After a few choice words about his feelings regarding Lionel, Gabe left them again to go upstairs to watch more television with Millie. Apparently she had discovered the Real Housewives franchise and was addicted.
One frozen pizza and a bottle of red wine later and Natalie thanked Harper for the hospitality and took her leave. She really was desperate for a nice long hot shower.
By the time she reached the back door of the train depot and let herself into her apartment, a hot shower was all she could think of. All she wanted… And what she was destined not to get.
Lionel blocked her way the moment she walked in the back door.
Dammit.
“Hi.” She smiled.
Kill them with kindness right? Hopefully that worked on the dead as well.
“Don’t hi me, young lady.”
Uh oh. “Did you not like the book?”
“No.”
“What was wrong with it?” she asked, tossing her jacket on the back of a chair as she prepared for battle.
“No, meaning that’s not it. The book was… fine. I guess. Considering. What I don’t like is how you and that smut peddler presumed to finish it without me. You submitted my book to my editor without me even seeing it,” he spat.
“Lionel. We had a deadline. You were gone. We had no idea when or even if you’d be back.
We had to do something. Would you rather we miss the deadline and ruin any chances of getting this book published?
” Natalie specifically did not mention they’d actually had two more days to submit.
Hopefully ghosts had no concept of time or dates.
He scowled. “I suppose not.”
“We did the best we could.”
“Yes. I realize that. The work you did honestly wasn’t as bad as I feared. I suppose that woman has some knowledge of the written word and the business of publishing.”
It might be one of the least complimentary compliments Natalie had ever heard, but it still made her smile. From Lionel this was like a five-star review.
“I’m glad we could help. And I promise when the edits come back you can work on those all by yourself if you want. With my help, I guess. Since you can’t type.” And wasn’t that going to be fun…
“Yes. That is true. And I’m not completely without gratitude for your assistance in all this.
Your name will have to be mentioned somewhere since you are the one in contact with the publisher as my partner they will expect it.
Inside, of course. Not on the cover. Maybe in the acknowledgments in the back. Yes. I think that will do nicely.”
“Thanks,” she said flatly.
“But not hers,” Lionel declared. “A romance writer’s name in my book is not something I could abide.”
“Understood. I don’t think Harper expected her name to be anywhere. She was just happy to help me.”
“Good. At least she’s not completely delusional.” Lionel clapped his age-spotted hands together once. It was like a gavel strike closing that bit of business for good. “Now, on to the next project.”
“The article about Mudville?” she suggested hopefully. “The LADS have compiled tons of research for you from both the documents we discovered and interviews with the old ghosts. Gabe and Millie have been helping, acting as a go-between with the other livings since I’ve been busy with the book.”
Natalie was both proud and impressed with how they all, both the living and dead, had rallied around this project. All to correct the history of the Mudd family and Mudville.
“Oh, no. That can wait. I’m talking about my murder case.
What has that boyfriend of yours heard from the coroner’s office?
I remained close by and listened closely for information the entire time I was there, but to no avail.
It was most unpleasant, I can tell you. Witnessing the indignities they performed not only on me, but to all of the…
test subjects. But all my efforts yielded next to nothing. ”
“So yeah. About that. Liam just got the report emailed to him.”
“And? Come, Miss Chase. Don’t leave me in suspense. Was I murdered, as I surmised, or not?”
“The coroner deemed it a heart attack. I’m sorry, Lionel, but your death was from natural causes. Case closed.”
“Outrageous.” Lionel sounded angry, but she could see from the slope of his shoulders, the drop of his chin as he let out a breath, he was visibly defeated.
“But hey, now we can throw ourselves into your next research project. You love research and writing. And you’ll be the first and the only historian who has access to all those old documents we found. Your article will be like breaking news. Won’t that be fun?” she asked hoping to raise his spirits.
“No, Miss Chase. It will not be fun.”
With that, he shuffled, head down, shoulders slumped, through the back door. To where, she didn’t know. But Natalie did know this didn’t bode well for the future of the Mudville article.